I saw 'Cry-Baby' many, many times, and loved it to bits, but I think it's a little too simplistic to blame the closing on the critics. I do believe that Brantley was unnecessarily mean, especially given how he treated 'Glory Days' with kid gloves. And there were some critics who loved 'Cry-Baby,' too (notably the Wall St. Journal). And tho' the Times review is important, it's not the be-all. 'Xanadu' and 'Passing Strange' got Times raves; they've been struggling to stay open.
I think a number of things did 'Cry-Baby' in. Tourists make up over 60% of Broadway audiences, and they had no idea what 'Cry-Baby' was. Let's face it: It's not one of John Waters' better-known movies. Plus, there were no recognizable stars in the show. I also think the $54 offer for all tickets during previews was ultimately a disaster. If you're selling your show for cheap, how would you ever get people to pay full-price? Plus, the Marquis is a cavern to fill. It's got over 1,600 seats. By contrast, 'Hairspray' is playing to a little over 1,400.
Finally, it was in the no-win situation of being compared with 'Hairspray.' 'Cry-Baby' was never designed to be a copy of 'Hairspray'; it's a cruder and ruder cousin. And to my mind, it really captured the warped humor of John Waters. Yet critics whined: It's no 'Hairspray.' It wasn't MEANT to be.
That said, bravo to the creators, cast and crew of 'Cry-Baby' for their valiant efforts. In the show, the title character sang, 'Nobody Gets Me.' Clearly, not enough people 'got' this show, but I'm happy I did, and enjoyed every minute of it.
Updated On: 6/23/08 at 03:54 PM